All's Fair in Love and War
by Giola
Summary: The wizarding world is on the brink of a war.   Lily Evans finds herself in the midst of it, with none other than the boy she hates, her exact opposite, James Potter.
1. The Beginning

I stared out at the pouring rain. From my window, the grounds looked like a swimming pool. I could only imagine what state the road to Hogsmeade would be in. It was just our luck that it would be pouring on our last Hogsmeade weekend of the year.

Grabbing my cloak, I headed down to the Great Hall to meet Emily, Mary and Lisa. The four of us have been roommates since first year, and best friends for just as long. Another girl, Sarah, had also been in our dorm for the last 5 years, but she hadn't come back to Hogwarts this year. None of us really knew why, but she wasn't replying to our letters, so we'd given up.

"Geez, Lil, you took your time." Emily grinned at me.

"Well, I'm sorry for needing my sleep." I retorted, pulling my cloak around my shoulders as we headed out into the torrential rain.

"You missed breakfast." Lisa stated, always the pragmatist.

"So? I'll have a big lunch." I winced as the rain hit me. I had until January to suffer.

"Can we hit Honeydukes? I'm out of Sugar Quills." Mary stated. Mary was a sugar-tooth, and went through at least ten Sugar Quills a week. I keep waiting for her teeth to fall out from all the sugar.

As we approached Hogsmeade, I can't help but feel a sense of loss. Usually on Hogsmeade weekends I split my time between my roommates and Severus, but since out falling out last year, I wasn't inclined to talk to him. He had called me a mudblood, for Merlin's sake! He had been constantly pestering me for all of first term, but I think, since I hadn't said a single word to him for eleven months, he was starting to realise I didn't want to talk to him. Instead, he was hanging around with Avery and Mulciber. I shuddered inwardly. Those boys were destined for bad things.

"Hey, Evans!" A voice called.

I rolled my eyes. Couldn't I have one day in peace, without the 'Marauders' pestering me? Of course not, that would be _far_ too much to ask for.

I keep walking, resolutley ignoring the voice calling my name. Mary and Emily break out into giggles when they see my face, hardened with determination. I hear his footsteps behind us, so I walk even faster, determined to get to the safety of Honeydukes before he caught up with us.

"Oi, Evans! You can't avoid me forever!" He whispered into my ear, making me jump.

I started to run towards Honeydukes, but unfortunately he grabbed my arm, forcing me to stay.

"What do you want, Potter?" I asked, gritting my teeth.

He looked me up and down, before turning to grin at Black, who was standing behind him with Lupin and Wormtail.

"Oh, nothing Evans. Just thought I'd brighten your day." He grinned at me.

I clenched my fists together, trying to control my anger. Typical Potter, annoy me all the way to Hogsmeade for no reason at all.

"Goodbye, Potter." I stalked off, Lisa, Mary and Emily trailing behind me.

I was almost at Honeydukes when I heard him speak again.

"Why, look, it's Snivellus!" He laughed, Black joining in.

I couldn't help myself, I turned around. I blame it on habit, I'd spent all these years standing up for Severus, it was natural for me to turn towards a fight between him and Potter and Black.

Severus was coming down from the Shrieking Shack, accompanied with Mulciber and Avery. I glared at them. I might have been friends with him once, but I certainly wasn't going anywhere near those two. Whatever Potter was going to do to him, he deserved it.

I turned around, entering Honeydukes, as I heard the tell-tale crack of a jinx behind me, followed by Black's laughter. Ignoring the scene outside, I joined Mary at the display of Sugar Quills.

"Look at her, she think's she so _perfect_ all the time, and anyone who's done the slightest thing wrong, well, she can't possibly go anywhere near them, can she?" I scowled at the red-headed figure sitting at a table on the other side of the room.

"I mean, what have I ever done to her?" I moodily picked at the food in front of me, for once not really feeling like eating.

"You've been harrassing her for years, mate." Sirius leans back in his chair, sipping on his butterbeer. I glare at him.

"So?" I snarl.

"Uh, and you're sort of rude to her…" Remus adds, but quickly trails off when I glare menacingly at him.

"Rude? Try acting like a downright arse everytime she's around!" Sirius cackles, laughing harder when he sees the look on my face.

"I do _not_ act like an arse." I growled, wishing he would spill butterbeer on himself.

"Yes you do, Prongs. And you know it." Sirius said, with an air of finality. I knew that tone well, when he talked like that, there was no arguing with him, not unless you wanted to end up with purple-tinged skin for a week.

"Well, it's not just me. Look at what Snivellus did to her, and now she's not talking to him. Not that I'm complaining, mind you." I added, watching as she listened to something her friend was saying, resting her chin on her hand.

"Who cares what Snivellus does?" Sirius asked, and I had to agree.

I'd been awfully jealous of him last year, as he was friends with Evans and I, well, wasn't. But now that he was on the outs too, things were looking promising.

I watched her laugh; I even heard it faintly through the rest of the din in the Three Broomsticks. Remus looked at me, following my gaze.

"James, she'll realise you're meant for her eventually. You might just have to grow up a bit for her to take an interest it you." Remus said wisely.

"He won't, though. I give it a week and he'll be asking her out again. You can't deny it, Prongs. You've got it bad for Evans." Sirius looked at me, serious for once.

"No I don't." My response was automatic. They'd been asking me the same question for years, everytime I answer the same. It was stupid, really. Clearly I fancied her, I wouldn't keep asking her out if I didn't. Somehow, I could never bring myself to admit it out loud to them, though. I'm not really sure why.

"Come on; let's go find Wormtail before he gets eaten by something." I say, standing up.

The others follow, and we make our way out of the inn. As I walked to the entrance, closer to her table, I heard her laugh. Everytime I heard it, it made me smile. It was light and carefree, exactly the opposite of her. She was perfect, prim, proper. Everything I'm not.

The snores of my roommates got louder with every passing second. Usually, I could block them out, and get a decent amount of sleep. Tonight? Oh, no. I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts.

For some reason, I couldn't get the image of James Potter leaving the Three Broomsticks out of my head. He'd looked back, towards my table, and the light had hit his hair, making it almost glow. Earlier, his eyes had met mine, and I swear he'd been staring at me. Not that that was unusual, but it felt different. All afternoon I'd been jumpy, hyperaware whenever he was in the same room as me. I'd come up here, to my dorm, early just to escape him. What was going on with me? Usually the only thing I felt around Potter was disdain and anger. Now, though…I simply didn't understand it.

He was rude, arrogant and selfish. He broke all the rules; he cursed people for the fun of it. His hair was constantly a mess; he never paid attention in class. He was exactly the opposite of me. By all rights, I should hate him. I usually did. So why couldn't I get him out of my head?

Three hours later, and I still couldn't get to sleep. Groaning, I rolled out of bed, grabbing my cloak and draping it around my shoulders. It might be May, but it was still freezing at night inside the castle. I headed down to the common room, grabbing my bag as I went. I'd been meaning to write to Petunia for ages, and now was as good a time as any.

The head of messy black hair poked over the couch at the sound of my footsteps.

Perhaps now was not a good time after all. I tried to turn around and sneak up the stairs…

"Evans? What are you doing up?"

It was Potter, of course. I winced, spinning back around on my heel to face him.

"Writing a letter." I replied, crossing my arms over my chest, feeling awfully exposed with only my cloak covering my pyjamas.

"At midnight?" He asked incredulously.

I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore him. I sat down in my usual chair, pulling a quill and parchment out of my bag. I could feel James's eyes on me as I wrote, but I ignored them. Or I tried to, at least. I had to rewrite one sentence three times, but I got there eventually. I refused to let him know that he was having an effect on me. He was James Potter, for Merlin's sake. I _hated_ him.

I finally completed my letter, though I admit I didn't really have much to say to my sister. We haven't been close since I went to Hogwarts, and she spent her time moving from one boyfriend to another. I stretched, putting my quill and parchment back in my bag; I'd drop by the Owlery tomorrow and send it.

Unfortunately, I still wasn't sleepy. Neither was James, apparently, because he was still sitting in exactly the same spot, studying me.

"What are you still doing here, Potter?" I asked, deliberatley avoiding his gaze. I didn't entirely just myself around him. Sure, I hated him, but something else was there which I was determined to ignore. I did not, and would never have feelings for James Potter. Absolutely not.

He shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep."

I rolled my eyes at this.

"Obviously." I replied snidely.

He sighed, clearly sick of my attitude. True, I was being rude, but he deserved it.

"Evans, can't we just quit it? I'm sick of swiping at each other." He said resignedly.

I stared at him. He wanted a truce? What the hell? How was I supposed to ignore…whatever the hell I was feeling if he wanted a truce? We fought, we argued, I turned him down…that was how we worked.

"What?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"I give up." He said simply. "I've been chasing you for years, clearly you aren't interested. So, I'd like a truce. I'll stop bugging you, you stop yelling at me for no damn good reason."

He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. I don't think he even realised he did it; it seemed to be a habit of his.

Part of me was in shock; I was so used to him chasing after me. I'd never wanted the attention, but that hadn't mattered, I'd still gotten it. I guess I'd never thought he'd _give up_. James Potter didn't give up, it wasn't like him.

That was when rational Lily departed. We were both standing up at this point, with barely a foot between us. I could see the firelight flickering in his eyes. Those...feelings…that had been festering inside me all day exploded. I stopped being rational, I became a hormone charged teenager. For once, I gave in, stopped being a good girl.

I kissed him. I couldn't believe I was doing it, but I did. I'd never kissed anyone before, but it felt good. He quickly responded, pulling me closer, wrapping his hands around my waist.

I pulled away, gasping for air.

Had that really just happened? Did I just kiss James Potter? And why did it feel so good? Was I…did I like him? No. Way.

I did the only logical thing; I bolted. Thank Merlin for the spell on the girl's staircase, he couldn't follow me. Though he probably wouldn't have anyway, he was standing there, looking like he'd been petrified.

I shut my door behind me, breathing heavily. Thankfully, everyone else in my dormitory was fast asleep and hadn't heard me come in. _That_ would spawn some awkward questions.

I settled back down on my bed, trying to wrap my head around what had happened. At some point I must have dozed off, because when I woke up seven hours later, the sun was shining, my dormitory was empty and I was lying on my bed, on top of my covers. I yawned, turning my head to the side, almost rolling on top of a piece of parchment lying on my pillow.

I assumed it was a note from Em, Mary or Lisa, so I read it sleepily.

"_My only love sprung from my only hate." _

_Romeo and Juliet 1:5_

Someone was haunting me with quotes. I'm not kidding. First, it was Romeo and Juliet, on the night of the 'incident' that I still hadn't told anyone about. I'd also been avoiding James, choosing to spend my free time in the library, studying for our end-of-year exams. Thankfully, none of my friends had found this odd; I suppose it was normal behaviour for me.

The second quote was Shakespeare again.

"_The course of true love never did run smooth"_

A Midsummer Night's Dream 1:1

_I was beginning to pick up the theme here; love. Considering the timing of the first quote, I was starting to worry. Had someone witnessed the 'incident'? Was this some sort of blackmail? _

_These sorts of thoughts had been preoccupying me for two weeks now. Our first exam, Charms, was tomorrow morning and I couldn't get these Shakespearean quotes out of my mind. Basically, I was doomed. _

_I still had absolutely no idea who was sending the quotes. I didn't recognize the handwriting, and they'd both mysteriously appeared on my pillow in the morning, no clues attached. _

"_Hey." Lisa said, sitting down opposite me, spreading her Charms books out. I smiled slightly at her, turning back to my textbook. _

"_I found this on your pillow." She said, passing an all to familiar piece of parchment over to me. _

_I looked down at it, dreading what I would see. _

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow"

Macbeth 5:5

_Well, that was ominous. _

"_Who's it from?" Lisa asked, scratching her nose with her quill whilst pouring over her Charms essay. _

"_I don't know." I replied honestly. _

_I got up, determined to find out once and for all what was going on with these quotes. There was a muggle section to the library, so I headed there. I quickly found Shakespeare's Macbeth, and read the whole passage. _

"_Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,_

_Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,_

_To the last syllable of recorded time;_

_And all our yesterdays have lighted fools_

_The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!_

_Life's but a walkign shadow, a poor player_

_That struts and frets his hour upon the stage_

_And then is heard no more: it is a tale_

_Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,_

_Signifying nothing."_

Unfortunately, we'd never been taught to analyse Shakespearean plays at Hogwarts, so I had no clue as to what it meant. Sighing, I placed the book back on the shelf, deciding that whoever was sending the quotes would show themselves sooner or later. All I could do was wait.

A scream shattered the silence of the cool night air, waking me up. I sat up hastily, looking to my right, to the source of the scream.

Emily was standing in the doorway to our bathroom, her hand over her mouth, her face deathly pale. Her eyes, like the eyes of every other person in my dorm, were fixated on the object suspended in the middle of the room.

I was the first one to move. I got up, my heart thumping in my chest. I walked over, around the objects.

It was Sarah.

Or, more accurately, her body. She was hanging upside down, suspended by magic, from our ceiling. She was pale, and I was sure if I felt her body it would be cold. Her eyes were wide open, staring at me. She looked terrified. There was a piece of parchment pinned to her muggle clothes.

My mind had gone blank. I grabbed the parchment without thinking.

None of my friends said anything. Lisa and Mary were still sitting in their beds, frozen. Em was in the doorway still, though she was now sobbing.

Suddenly, my brain kicked in. The Headmaster had to know what had happened.

I turned, heading out of my dormitory. As soon as I pulled open the door, I saw that we weren't the only ones woken by Emily's scream. Half of Gryffindor Tower was in the Common room, several fourth year girls running up the girl's staircase, almost crashing into me.

"Lily, what happened? Did someone scream?"

"Lily! What was that?"

"Lily?"

I ignored them, pushing through the crowd in the common room without saying a single word. All the conversations quickly died as the Gryffindors caught sight of my pale, serious face, and the parchment in my hand. I walked the final few metres to the portrait hole in a dead silence. I climbed through, refusing to let any thought other that 'tell Dumbledore' enter my head. I couldn't break down right now, I had a task to complete.

"Evans? Are you alright?" James grabbed my wrist, spinning me around. I was halfway down the corridor at this point, clearly he'd followed me out.

"Dumbledore." I whispered, spinning back around and breaking into a run. This was _urgent._

"What? Dumbledore? What the hell happened, Lily?" James ran to catch up to me.

Perhaps it was the use of my first name, or something else, but I told him.

"Sarah's body is hanging in our room. She's dead, James. Murdered." I say bluntly, blocking all my emotions.

James stopped dead, staring at me in shock.

"What?" He whispered.

I stopped running, turning back to him.

"I need to see Dumbledore. Are you coming or not?" I asked blatantly.

He nodded, and without a word we set of at a run for the Headmaster's office. I still had the unread piece of parchment clutched in my hand; I knew what would be on it, the same messages that had been haunting me for days.

We came to the gargoyle guarding the office. We came to an abrupt halt.

"I need to see Dumbledore." I said, almost yelling at the gargoyle.

Unfortunatley, gargoyles don't like statements. They like passwords.

"No password, no entry." The gargoyle replied, smirking.

I screamed out in frustration, my hands curling into fists, scrunching up the piece of parchment.

"I need to speak to him! My friend's been murdered!" I screamed at it.

I have no idea why that worked, but it did. The gargoyle jumped aside, and I bolted up the stairs, James hot on my heels. I pushed through the door, into Dumbledore's office, breathing heavily.

"Professor-" I began, but he cut me off.

"Miss Evans, Mr Potter! What ever are you doing here?" Dumbledore asked incredulously.

"Sarah's been murdered." I gasped, clutching my sides, breathing in gasps.

Thankfully, James stepped in.

"Lily said that she found Sarah's – Sarah's body in her room." James' voice was shaking.

Dumbledore stared at us, clearly alarmed. Abruptly, he stood up.

"Follow me." He said, and we did.

"Lily, was there anything else with Sarah? Any indication of who was behind it?" Dumbledore asked me as we made our way through the corridors, walking briskly.

"Sir, I think we can guess who did this-" James started, but stopped when Dumbledore turned his head and glared at him.

"Lily?" Dumbledore asked me again.

"Y-yes. There was. This piece of parchment." I flattened it out, and read outloud.

"_Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war"_

_Julius Caesar 3:1_

We walked the next few corridors in silence as Dumbledore pondered this. James looked furious, clearly wanting to go and hex the people responsible. I must say I sympathised.

"Miss Evans, you've received other notes similar to this in the past week?" Dumbledore asked as we approached Gryffindor Tower.

I gaped at him in silence. How could he possibly know that? 

"Yes sir…how did you know?" I asked.

He never replied, however. We'd reached the tower.

"Grindylow." Dumbledore said, his tone just as grave as it had been in his office, but with more urgency.

The Fat Lady swung forward for him.

"What's going on?" She asked curiously.

We all ignored her, heading through the crowds of students who were still milling around in the common room, and up to my dorm room.

Dumbledore must have counteracted the spell on the staircase, because both he and James climbed it without problems.

They both entered my dorm without hesitating. I, however, paused before going back in. I knew I'd have to face it once I did, the horrific scene that awaited me, and the consequences of it. If that quote was anything to go by, those consequences would include a war.


	2. Time to Change

"Well, no one has any clue what actually happened." Emily said, sliding into the seat next to me.

She'd just been eavesdropping on conversations all up and down the Hogwarts Express, but apparently no one had any insight into what had happened in our dorm room that made Dumbledore cancel all exams and release us for summer holidays.

"That's good, I guess." I said, leaning back in my seat, helping myself to Mary's supply of sweets.

"Yeah, but it still doesn't give us any idea who did it." Lisa said, pulling us all back into our glum moods.

We'd spent the past hour of the train ride discussing this, and so far we had nothing. I was contemplating asking James, he'd acted like he knew something last night. Well, more than we did, anyway.

"This is frustating! Who would do that?" I ask, through a mouthful of Chocolate Frog.

"Pure-bloods." He said.

I nearly fell out of my seat in shock. Where had he come from? Black, as usual, was behind him, and they sauntered into our compartment like they owned it, sitting down in the empty spots, Black even grabbing a Frog for himself.

I stared at James, flabbergasted.

"What?" I gasped. I was right, he _did _know something.

"Oh, come on. They're always plotting little pranks, the nasty Slytherins. No one else in the school is capable of doing something this _evil._" He spat the last word like a curse.

"Unless you have some reason to suspect it's _not_ them?" He turned to me, one eyebrow raised.

I stared at him, unable to form any words. What he was saying made sense; too much sense. Who was the one person that (most likely) hated me? Who, if they'd seen the 'incident' between me and James would have been jealous? Who was also in Slytherin, and friends with people who were a) dangerous, b) hated me and c) acted like a gang? Oh, and who would definetely stoop as low as to sneak into the Gryffindor common room to spy on me?

Severus Snape. And he like Shakespearean plays, he'd told me so himself. Argh, I was so stupid! How could I not have seen it before? He was being influenced by those _gits _Avery and Mulciber, they were probably the masterminds of this scheme, and they would definetley hurt innocent people. They were, as James had said, _evil._ And Sev was mixed up in it!

I gasped, standing up. I forced past my friends, out of the compartment. I was heading down to the Slytherin comparment when he caught up with me.

"Evans! You can't just run off and attack them!" James grabbed my arm, spinning me back around.

"But they-they…they murdered her, James! And he's mixed up in that! All because I…" I trailed off, trying not to cry. I can't believe Sev was doing all this to get back at me. He was hurt that I'd shut him off. I could easily imagine him turning to his Slytherin cronies, and being swayed by them to do something like this. He could be spiteful when he wanted to be.

"Hey, you didn't force him to do this. He chose to befriend them. Hell, he was friends with them long before you starting ignoring him. He's a Slytherin, want else did you expect?"

I looked up at him, my eyes narrowing. He was so _prejudiced_!

"You just don't get it. You sound exactly like them. You're willing to believe they're behind all of this, without a shred of evidence." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I have evidence." He replied quietly, looking at the floor.

My eyes widened, shocked.

"What?" I whispered. "How?"

"Never mind that. Just know that it was them sending you those quotes, and yes, Evans, I know there were more than you showed Dumbledore. I'm not thick, you know. Snape went along with it all, he wanted to see you suffer. Well, he mostly wanted to hurt me, by hurting you, but he wasn't complaining when you suffered."

"I don't believe it. He wouldn't murder someone." I said, avoiding looking at James. I had no idea how he knew all of this, but I didn't doubt its authenticity. The Marauders had amazing sources.

"He didn't." James said bluntly, his eyes trained to my face, which was resolutely looking away from him.

"He had nothing to do with that part. They wanted to scare you, simply because you're a Mudblood. I overheard them talking about it in their compartment earlier." He smiled at me slightly.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"James, what on earth is happening? Why do they have to be so…so cruel?" I leant against the wall in defeat.

I couldn't argue with him, everything he was saying made sense.

"That piece of parchment said it. It's war." He said, his eyes losing their normal sparkle momentarily.

On that gloomy note, we headed back to the compartment. I didn't really want to ask more about this 'war'. I shoved it in the 'too disturbing/sad/violent/worrying/stressful' box in my mind, to be dealt with later. If he was right, all our lives were about to change.

"Hurry up, Lily! We're leaving!" My mum called up the stairs.

I rolled my eyes. I'd been home for exactly 30 minutes, and we were going out to dinner, for a 'family outing'. Wonderful. I hadn't even unpacked.

I grabbed my bag, not bothering to change out of the clothes I'd worn home from Hogwarts. I also grabbed my wand; thank god I was of age now and had passed my Apparition test. If this night became too much to handle, I'd just Apparate out of there. It felt good to have freedom, for once.

"Lily!" My mum called, sounding agitated.

Sighing, I made my way down the stairs, swinging around the banister at the bottom like I have for the past 17 years. Mum always says I'm going to break my neck doing that one day, but I never have.

"I'm here, Mum." I call, meeting her in the hall. She looks harassed, and I don't blame her. It's not everyday that Petunia agrees to come with us for a family dinner, nor does she bring a man with her, to meet the parents. This was most definetely a first.

She sheperds me to the car, and I jump in the back. It's only a few minutes drive to the local Italian resturant, and Mum spends most of it nervously glancing at her watch.

"We're going to be late." She muttered. "What will he think of us? We have to make a good impression, for Petunia's sake!"

She was stressing herself out over this. For all of my life she'd been like this, worried and stressed. My dad was the opposite, nothing ever fazed him. They complemented each other well.

We arrived, 5 minutes late, to my Mum's displeasure. She hurried inside, my Dad and I trailing after her. I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"It's good to have you home, Lily dear." My dad said, in a rare moment of compassion.

"Thanks, Dad." I said, unsure of what to do. Dad rarely said anything, so when he did, you know he meant it.

We approached our table, where Mum was greeting Petunia and her boyfriend. I hung back, letting Dad greet them first. Mum was blocking my view of the boyfriend, who was seated next to Petunia.

"Oh, Vernon, this is Lily." My mum said, turning and grabbing me by the shoulder, pulling me up to meet him.

I felt my mouth open rudely, and I tried my hardest to stop it, but I just couldn't. Vernon was _too_ _ridiculous_! What an earth did my sister see in him? He was overweight, had a round, shiny face, and was already showing signs of balding, though he couldn't be over 23. My sister was the complete opposite. At 19, she was tall, with a thin blonde hair and a long neck. Her beady eyes narrowed as she saw my reaction.

I tried to redeem myself.

"Hi." I said quietly, sliding into my seat. My mother and father also took their seats, and we ordered our food.

"So, Vernon, what do you do for a living?" My mother asked conversationally, whilst Petunia glared at me.

I suppose that was a step up from her normal treatment, ignoring me completely.

"I just started working for Grunnings." He said, downing nearly half a glass of wine.

My eyes widened as I watched him, his face slowly getting redder. His hair was sticking to his forhead, which was gleaming under the cheap lighting. I honestly had no idea what Petunia saw in him.

"They make drills, don't they?" My mother asked again, trying to keep the conversation going.

She was alone with that effort. Dad was definetely not a conversationalist, and Petunia and I was too busy glaring at each other to even try.

Polite conversation was passed, mainly between Vernon and my mother, until our meals came, upon which we all ate in complete silence.

Once I'd finished, I got up and went to the bathroom. I couldn't take much more of the stifling atmosphere of this 'family outing'. Vernon was a pompous git, Petunia was being a stuck-up priss as usual, and my dad was slowly drinking himself into a stupor. Family is fun, isn't it?

I fixed my hair in the mirror, and settled my bag on my shoulder. As I was about to Apparate out of this warped version of a family, Petunia walks in.

"How dare you!" She exclaims, walking right up to me.

"What did I do?" I ask, the picture of innocence.

"Don't give me that, Lily, I saw the look on your face! Don't you_ dare_ judge him before you even know him!" She was practically screaming at me.

I'd never seen her get this worked up about a guy in my life. She must really have feelings for him, then.

"Petunina, what on earth do you see in him? He's pompous, boring, fat-"

She slapped me across the face, effectively shutting me up. I gasped at her.

"Don't talk about my _boyfriend_ that way! Just because you're jealous you can't have a normal relationship-"

"What?" I cut in. "I am not!" I was steadily getting angrier. I had a lot of pent up anger at my sister from years of her ignoring me, and I was willing to let it all out.

"You don't know anything about me! You call me a freak, and ignore me. You're about as much of a sister as that doorknob is!" I was screaming at her now.

She glared at me, her eyes dangerously narrow.

"I'm leaving." I said, sticking my nose in the air. "And you can't stop me. Have a nice life with _Vernon._"

With that, I stormed past her, into the resturant. I muttered a hasty goodbye to my parents, who looked flabbergasted, but I didn't offer an explanation. No doubt they'd hear the entire thing from 'Tuney'.

I almost ran into the alleyway alongside the resturant, apparating to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Tom, give me a butterbeer." I said, pulling out my emergency supply of wizarding money. I turned around, going to find a table, but was stopped when I saw who else was spending their night in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Evans?"

You have _got_ to be kidding me. I spend all year at school with him, and now he's showing up in my holidays too? For Merlin's sake, please let me have at least one Potter-free evening.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, staring at me over his own butterbeer.

I contemplated for a moment. It couldn't hurt to tell him the truth.

"Escaping a family dinner." I said honestly, cautiously sitting down opposite him.

"Why are you here? Alone? Where's Black?" The two of them were practically inseperable, so it was odd that James was here, by himself.

"Oh, he nicked off with some girl ten minutes ago. I was about to head home when you popped in." James grinned at me.

I sipped my butterbeer, smiling slightly back at him.

"Oh, Evans? I have a question." He asked, his lopsided grin wider now.

I raised my eyebrows, waiting.

"Will you go out with me?"

And there it was. The question again. He'd been asking me this for…about 3 years, and I said the same thing everytime.

"For the last time, Potter-"

This time, however, I didn't get to answer. A jet of red light cut me off.

I whirled around, pulling out my wand, James doing the same.

Avery and Mulciber were standing in the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, grinning at us. They both raised their wands again, as did James and I.

"Stupefy!" The four of us said in unison.

The four jets of light collided, and rebounded in every direction. Tom ducked behind his bar,narrowly avoiding being hit by one. Another hit a table to my right, exploding it. The staircase behind James was similarly destroyed.

James walked up to stand beside me, and we squared off with our opponents, who were laughing manically.

"What the hell, Avery? You can't just walk in here and attack us!" James spat.

"Really Potter? Because what just happened says otherwise." Mulciber retorted, while Avery cackled on.

"Besides, she's fair game now. Mudblood." Avery sneered at me.

My fists curled up, and I raised my wand. James, however, beat me to it.

"Stupefy!" He said again, hitting Avery in the chest. Mulciber, however, was unharmed, and drew his wand on me, grinning at me evilly.

"Crucio." He hissed, and I collapsed on the floor, screaming.

"Lily?" He whispered, worry creasing his face, momentarily distracted from the duel.

I saw James look down at me, but then everything went black with pain. The last thing I saw was yet another jet of red light.


	3. Just A Summer Thing

**A/N: Just to clarify, it starts in James POV, then switches to Lily's. **

**Also, **

**Disclaimer: No, I'm not J., unfortunately. Everything you recognize is hers. **

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, focusing on my face. I smiled at her.

"Welcome back." I said.

She looked at me, confused.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting up, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Well, after you fainted, I hit Mulciber with a wicked stunner, before Tom kicked all of us out. Apparently he doesn't like it when duelling teenagers wreck his inn."

I grinned down at her, relieved to see some colour returning to her previously chalk white cheeks.

"I disapparated with you, back to here." I said, shrugging. There really wasn't much else to tell, unless she wanted to know about the last ten minutes that I'd spent stressing over her.

"And where exactly is here?' She asked, cocking her head slightly.

"Oh." I said. "Right. This is my room."

She looked around her, her green eyes taking in everything from my unpacked trunk to my overflowing desk.

"I'm in your house?" She asked, turning back to stare, wide-eyed, at me.

"Where else was I supposed to take you?" I replied, standing up. I'd previously been sitting on the edge of my bed, her lying on it. I'd only just realised that there was merely five inches between us, and my nerves were going haywire. Lily Evans was in my bedroom, for Merlin's sake!

I watched her as she fussed with her hair, trying to make herself presentable. It was typical, really. She always had to look perfect.

"Did her really use an Unforgivable curse on me?" She turned to me, her green eyes boring into mine.

"Uh…yeah he did." I couldn't really believe it myself. The Slytherins had always been evil, but I didn't think they'd stoop that low. The Unforgivable curses were illegal for a reason, after all.

"What the hell is going on with they Slytherins, then?" She muttered to herself.

We both sat in silence for a minute, pondering the impending insanity of our peers. There was something seriously wrong with them, but I had yet to figure out what it was. Not that I was worried, I always figured stuff out. I was a Marauder, after all.

"Uh, James…about that incident the other night…" Lily broke the silence, though her gaze was concentrating on my bedspread, not me. She was fiddling with the edge of my blanket, clearly uncomfortable.

"Yes?" I asked warily.

I had absolutely no doubt what 'incident' she was referring to. It, along with Sarah's murder and the stupid Slytherins, had been constantly on my mind. I could hardly believe it – after so many years of trying, I'd finally kissed Lily Evans! Who knew all it took was for me to give up?

Not that I'd actually given up, it was just an idea that I'd had. I mean, I'd tried everything else to get her, and nothing worked. So, logically, doing nothing must work, then. Well, it made sense to me, anyway. And it worked.

"Uh…I just want us to be clear. It didn't mean anything. It was…just a momentary lapse in judgement on my part. I'm-I'm sorry if you thought otherwise-"

I cut her off. This was painful.

"Oh, I know Lily. It didn't mean anything to me either. Like I said, I've given up. Moving on, you know." I waved my hand around me in a vague gesture, hoping she wouldn't read through my lies.

I _hadn't_ given up. My new strategy, however, was to seem like I had. Maybe I'd even be able to make her jealous, string along some poor Hufflepuff, pretend to like her….I could feel a plan forming.

"Oh, good." She smiled at me warmly.

"I was thinking we could be friends." She proposed, folding her hands neatly across her lap. She was still perched on my bed, elegant as ever.

I gaped at her. Friends? That's a step closer to my goal, right?

"Sure." I said, grinning back at her.

It was surprisingly easy to talk to her, once we got past the 'awkward silence'.

"So, you looking forward to 7th year?" I asked, just to break the silence.

"Oh, well, I guess so." She replied, fiddling with my bedspread again.

"It's going to be very stressful, though." She frowned slightly, clearly worried.

I shrugged.

"We lived through O., how much worse can it be?" I asked, smiling widely again.

"I suppose." She murmured, still analysing my bed.

"You're feeling fine, right?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.

She looked up, all innocent.

"Yes! I still can't believe he used that…spell…but otherwise, I'm fine." She looked at me hesitantly, as if deciding what to say next.

"James…do you know anything about all this? You know, Sarah and the Slytherins acting strange…" She trailed off into silence, staring expectantly at me.

I swallowed. Truth be told, I had a fair idea of what was going on. Being a Marauder meant I was pretty good at eavesdropping, and the teachers weren't excluded from that.

"Um…" I said, stalling.

"Well, I don't really know, but I've heard some rumours about a Dark Wizard around, with a gang of followers, who likes to torture Muggles for sport and hates Muggle-borns." I shrugged, trying to make light of the whole situation.

"Probably nothing though." I grinned, leaning back against the wall.

She didn't seem convinced about my attempt to brush it off though. Worry lines creased her face.

"Do you-do you think the Slytherin's could be involved?" She whispered, looking up at me through her lashes.

I shivered as her eyes met mine. She'd never know it, but I'd do anything to protect her from all of this. The 'big bad world'.

"No. Nothing at all." I said, turning around so she couldn't see my face as I blatantly lied to her.

"Come on, we'd better get you home." I said, walking to my door, turning and gesturing to her to follow.

I crept downstairs, careful not to wake Petunia. I really wasn't in the mood for an early morning shouting match. Her door was shut, thankfully, and I hadn't heard a peep from her all night.

Mum had left me a note on the kitchen bench.

_Lily, _

_Dad's gone to work, and I'm spending the day with some of the ladies. There's leftovers for lunch if you want them. _

_Please try to patch things up with your sister. _

_Love, _

_Mum_

Well, that was a waste of paper. There was _no_ way I was apologizing to Petunia, she was the one who brought 'Vernon' along anyway, plus she calls me a freak. She's the one who needs to do the patching up.

As for lunch, I was meeting Mary, Lisa and Emily for lunch, like I usually did every Saturday of the holidays.

I flicked on the muggle radio with my wand (yes, I was loving being able to do magic at home, but I'm not abusing it, I swear). I made myself breakfast, dancing around as I did, humming along with the song.

I was in for a brilliant morning before Petunia walked downstairs. At that stage I'd progressed from breakfast food to a cup of tea, and was currently plonked infront of the T.V. Petunia, upon seeing me, launched into her screeching attack.

"Lily! How dare you storm out of that resturant! Thanks to you, Vernon thinks my family's crazy now-"

I turn to glare at her.

"But, Tuney," I say, in an 'innocent' voice, "You're the one who always says I'm crazy. Freak, actually. So why shouldn't he think that too?" I smiled sweetly at her.

She glared at me, but I was out of there and secluded in the safety of my room before she could reply, and ruin my eardrums.

At quarter to 12, I apparated directly to Diagon Alley. I was initially going to go to the Leaky Cauldron first, but after last night that didn't seem like such a good idea.

I met Emily, Mary and Lisa outside our normal café, Loreanda's. I sat down in the empty seat, saying my hellos.

"Hey, Lily." Mary said, talking around her milkshake straw.

"So, how was your first day of holidays?" Emily asked, leaning back in her chair.

I shrugged.

"Oh, just a family dinner, you know. Oh, and I got attacked at the Leaky Cauldron, and James saved me, and now we've agreed to be friends." I said, in a blasé tone. I watched their faces go from relaxed, to worried, to flabbergasted. I giggled inwardly. I loved working them up like this.

"And my sister tried to yell my ear of this morning." I say, waving my hand like it's nothing, no longer able to contain my grin.

"WHAT?" They all exclaimed in unison, staring open-mouthed at me.

Sighing, I relayed my recent events till them, before the food arrived.

"So, tell me if I have this wrong, but you and Potter…James Potter, your sworn enemy and most arrogant person on the planet, and friends now?" Emily said, raising her eyebrows at me, her fork halfway to her mouth.

I rolled my eyes.

"I know he's an idiot, but he was actually _nice_ last night. Plus, I've tortured him for six years, I might as well _try_ to be friends." I said, picking the tomato out of my sandwich.

"But…he fancies you! Why does he just want to be friends?" Lisa exclaims, clearly struggling to understand James' actions.

"He said he was over it." I said, shrugging. "I don't know if that's true, but hopefully he will get 'over it', and we can be friends." I said, turning my full attention to my food.

I wasn't lying, I actually did want to be friends with James. He seemed to be growing up, he certainly wasn't joking around like usual. But, I knew one thing for certain. It would never be more than friendship. No matter what anyone thinks, or what James has said in the past, that was not what this was better us. I was sure of it.

"Well," Emily said, through a mouthful of food, "I still fink he fancies 'ou", she swallowed before resuming, "And this is just some...ploy...to make you like him back."

She smiled satisfactorly, like she'd uncovered some great mystery. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"I highly doubt it. If we even survive being friends through summer, it won't continue at Hogwarts. He'll go back to being an idiot Marauder, and I'll be 'Miss Perfect'."

I highlight my words with finger quotation marks, my expression mocking. They all cracked up, and we spent the rest of the meal discussing less James centric topics.

However, after we'd finished our food, the conversation became sombre.

"It's Sarah's funeral in two days." Lisa said, which caused us all to look forlorn, staring at the table.

"I still can't believe that…that happened." Mary said, looking like she was choking back tears.

I recalled what James had said last night, about a Dark Wizard. Should I share that with the girls?

I opened my mouth, about to reveal my information, but closed it again, thinking better of my idea. There was no point, James wasn't sure it was true anyway. No need to scare them over a rumour.

"Come on, there's no point dwelling on these sort of things." Emily said, standing up and putting her bag on her shoulder.

"Let's go shopping!"

Laughing, we followed Emily to the cash register, had a massive argument over how to split the bill (that happens every time, I swear), and finally made it out into Diagon Alley and the shops.

We managed to forget the looming funeral of our former roomate and best friend for a few hours, losing our selves in the joy of shopping. Or, at least Emily and Mary did, anyway. Lisa and I aren't what you would call shop-a-holics, but we had fun watching the other two try on at least twenty items, giving our opinions.

By the time I returned home, I was feeling sufficiently lighter. Overall, it had been a good day. To top it off, Petunia was out when I got home, saving me from another screeching lecture.

At that moment, I was carefree. I wasn't worrying about the Dark Wizard, I wasn't trying to understand the Slytherin's, I wasn't racked by grief over Sarah, I wasn't being yelled at by my sister. I was just, simply, being me, enjoying summer.


End file.
